A familiar place on the airwaves

Spanish-language radio station seeks to be 'the most Mexican.'

Spanish-language radio station seeks to be 'the most Mexican.'

July 11, 2006|PABLO ROS

Note: This is the first in an occasional series about Spanish-language radio and its role in Michiana. In a one-story brick building at the end of a pebbled drive, WKAM-AM (1460) is the home of a new radio station, another attempt at commercial Spanish-language radio. "La Mejor" (The Best) went on the air about a month ago with a new staff. It replaces 1-year-old Radio Kañón, one of the region's first Spanish-language commercial radio stations. (There are several nonprofit Spanish-language radio stations in the area.) "In the short term we want to run all the ads of local Hispanic businesses. But later we would also like to run ads for all American businesses," said Zulma Rodriguez, who directs the station with her husband, José de Jesús López. "Which American business doesn't want to access the Hispanic market," Rodriguez argued. With a higher percentage of Hispanics listening to radio compared with the general public, according to various studies, the medium continues to be one of the best ways of reaching Hispanics. Consider the role that radio played in organizing the immigration rallies earlier this year: From Los Angeles to Chicago and New York City, disc jockeys were largely responsible for calling out millions of people to the streets. Spanish-language radio stations play an even more important role in smaller communities where people don't have access to other local Spanish-language media, like daily newspapers or television programs. Adrian Villalobos, programming and production director for the 2,500-watt WKAM, which serves mainly Elkhart County and eastern St. Joseph County, said his goal is multifaceted. "The image that I want to have is for the station to become a source of entertainment, information, company, diversion," he said, but even more to keep families together. "That's something that I almost always touch upon," he said, "to keep families united, that's one of my favorite themes, to encourage parents to spend more time with their children." But unlike English-language radio stations, whose listeners call with daily life concerns or mendable broken hearts, Spanish-language radio often responds to the unusual circumstances many immigrants face. Villalobos said listeners seem to find a safe haven in the station, calling when they feel depressed because they miss their home, sad when they've lost a job, or worried about lacking a driver's license or legal papers. "We want to tell all of the Hispanic people in the United States that they must be happy. ... We want to motivate people every day. ... We want them to remain optimistic in life," Villalobos said of what he conceives as his job. Villalobos, a.k.a. "El Ratón Vaquero" (Cowboy Mouse), is almost always smiling, like he's telling you a joke or laughing at himself. Born in the Mexican coastal city of Veracruz, he aspired to become a comedic actor before moving to California and then to Indiana. He said he's been in radio for several years, still producing commercial ads for stations in Ohio and Florida. "There's a lot of people who don't speak English and who want to remain informed of what's going on," Villalobos said, adding that he wants to start airing local news in Spanish. In the past, other generations of immigrants have made the transition to American culture through their own media. Foreign-language radio and newspapers were popular throughout the last century. But more than that, Spanish-language radio is a way of staying in touch with one's past. "The use of radio is like someone's company; listeners want to feel they are with someone, with something; they want to listen to someone who speaks their language, someone who makes them laugh," Villalobos said. Even among U.S.-born, English-speaking Hispanics, Spanish-language media remain a popular means of accessing different kinds of information. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research organization, 78 percent of U.S.- and foreign-born Latinos believe that Spanish-language news media are "very important to the economic and political development of the Hispanic population." I, personally, like watching Univision on cable TV for great commentary during soccer matches and for news on Latin America. I also like listening to the local Spanish-language radio station Sabor Latino for things going on around town. La Mejor's slogan, "The most Mexican" (La más mexicana), hints at the desire of expatriates to find a place here they recognize as familiar. Sometimes that's all Hispanic radio is: A place on the airwaves that feels a little bit more like home. Staff writer Pablo Ros: pros@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6555